An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is an aircraft that flies without human operators being present in the aircraft. These UAVs may be controlled from a remote location. At this remote location, a human operator or a program executed by a computer generates commands for the UAV. Or in other examples, a program running on a computer or other controller on the UAV may generate commands for the UAV.
UAVs may be used for a number of different purposes. Currently, the largest use is for military applications, such as reconnaissance missions, attack missions or other suitable types of missions. UAVs also may be used in a number of civilian applications, such as to perform surveying, firefighting or other suitable types of missions. In one more particular example of a civilian application, UAVs may be used in agricultural applications to provide a remotely-sensed imagery-based decision product that aids farmers by determining the health and status of their crops.
UAVs may come in a number of different shapes and sizes. For example, UAVs may take the form of fixed wing aircraft, helicopters, ornithopters, or some other suitable type of device capable of flying. And the sizes of these UAVs may vary greatly, some of which may have a wing span from about a few inches to about 200 feet.
In a number of applications it may be desirable to operate UAVs and more often smaller UAVs in large numbers, which may increase the monitoring that can be performed for a particular area. Smaller UAVs, however, present a number of challenges as compared to their larger counterparts. Storage and transport of smaller UAVs may be more involved. And their range is often shorter, requiring more frequent charging or refueling.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have an apparatus and method that takes into account one or more of the issues discussed above, as well as other possible issues.